Cheesecake Day/Full Moon Day/Kiss Your Car Day/Dharma Day/Father-In-Law Day
2007-07-30 @ 9:09 p.m.

Almost done with The Republic Of Leaves, which according to the reviews I checked out online, is actually considered to be a cross of 1984 with Lord Of The Flies. The latter is so blindingly obvious, and the former shows up in the Newspeak that crops up in the last section of the novel. I kind of agree with those people who commented that Joy's sudden unexplained appearance throws off the narrative, and I'd really like to know whether all the weird stuff that happens is actually Michael's doing or just Joy creating a trap for the object of her obsessive desire. I sneaked a peek at the ending, and it seems to suggest that having executed Isobel and Louis, Michael's going to kill off Alex and Joy next. So maybe he's the crazy one after all? The writing gets a bit weak towards the end, but maybe that's symbolic of the collapse of the whole utopian idyll created by the characters? It's a decent debut novel really, so give it a try if you're looking for something to read.